


Further Than You

by Letters_to_Somebody



Category: Cyborg 009
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:47:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25720804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Letters_to_Somebody/pseuds/Letters_to_Somebody
Summary: After defeating Black Ghost the Cyborgs are free to pursue their old lives. Jet doesn't get everyones excitement, but they won't all be alone after they leave the Dolphin. Jet was never good with words, or feelings, but he has to try before he's left in the dust yet again.
Relationships: 002 | Jet Link/004 | Albert Heinrich
Kudos: 7





	Further Than You

**Author's Note:**

> Playlist! I was heavily inspired by music for this! 
> 
> Most Important song that started it all: Hallucinogenics by Matt Maeson  
> Straight Razor by Matt Maeson  
> Mr. Rattle Bones by Matt Maeson  
> Man Of The Year by Dance Gavin Dance  
> My Heart Is Buried in Venice by Montgomery Jack  
> Cringe (stripped) by Matt Maeson   
> ANYTHING BY MATT MAESON THO

Jet stood on the bridge of the Dolphin, his home of the last year at least – possibly longer- he had lost count. He looked out over the sea, they were just bobbing in the water, and it almost felt off putting, to be so calm. When was the last time he had felt like he wasn’t on the run from someone? Had he ever felt like he wasn’t on the run, even when he was human, he had a bad habit of finding trouble. Jet smiled to his own reflection int eh window tomorrow he would be heading back to New York and his stomach was doing flip flops. He wondered how it changed, what he would see when he got home, it had been 40 years since he’d been in the big city. 

A week ago, Jet -002- along with the other 00 cyborgs defeated Black Ghost for what would hopefully be forever. The organization that had ripped all of them away from their homes and forced them to live a life none of them wanted. Jet looked at his hand and thought about the rockets in his legs. He wouldn’t be needing those anymore; he would have to be careful about keeping them hidden. He would admit he would miss getting to soar in the sky at least a little bit. Thinking about his mechanical body Jet started walking towards the door to the outside deck. 

Walking out into the sunshine Jet smiled to himself, he knew he’d find him out here. 004- Albert- the most cyborg of them all- 004 had it all mechanical legs, arms, one whole arm was a machine gun in disguise. It made Jet wonder why the rest of them weren’t outfitted with more technology-not that he was really complaining.   
The wind blew 004’s silver hair lightly pushing his long bangs into his deep grey eyes. Jet couldn’t believe he was wearing his stupid plain black turtleneck out in the sun. He was wearing white gloves that Jet had never seen before and held a cigarette in his fingers. Jet stood watching from the lower deck.

“Since when do you smoke,” Jet leaned against the railing in front of him looking out over the open ocean.

004 laughed, it was warm, and Jet didn’t get to hear it very often, but every time it made him tingle down to his toes. 

“I’ve done it for a while, you just haven’t noticed,” 004 took a drag from the cigarette.

Jet was sure he would have noticed, Albert never smelled like cigarettes. 

“Aren’t you hot?” Jet leaned his chin against his palm now looking over at the other man. 

“I’m trying to enjoy the warmth now, Germany’s cold right now you know,” 004 ashed his cigarette.

How could Jet forget, it was almost like 004 wouldn’t let him forget, Germany this, Germany that. He was taunting him at this point. 

“Do you even remember German?” Jet narrowed his dark eyes, “Don’t you want to see somewhere you’ve never been before?”

“My German is excellent thank you,” 004 smirked, “And all I’ve been doing is seeing places I’ve never been. I want to go home 002.”

Jet shrugged, “I’m just saying, the professor got me a nice apartment from what I’ve heard. You could see New York, it’s warm this time of year.”

004 descended from the top of the Dolphins bridge down to Jet making his heart jump. 

“The apartment I got might be small, but I don’t need much space,” 004 put out his cigarette on the bottom of his shoe.

Jet bit his lip watching the taller man with silver hair walk towards the door. He felt like he should have said something, but as he’s been doing for years, he stayed silent watching as 004 disappeared into the Dolphin. Jet felt so stupid leaning heavily against the railing of the ship, how long had he been playing this stupid game, why wouldn’t his heart calm down, he should be bored of that stupid cyborg by now. Jet grumbled walking back into the ship, after tonight who knew when he’d see 004 again. Maybe that would be for the best?

Returning to his bunk Jet sat on the small bed taking in the four mental walls around him. After tonight he’d no longer travel between air and sea, he really would be stuck on the ground. He wondered what his apartment would look like, how he would decorate it. He also wasn’t sure which part of the city he would be living in. 

A knock at the door tore Jet away from his thoughts, his heart skipped a beat, “Come in!”

His heart calmed as 003 opened the door. 

“Hi 002,” She beamed brushing her blonde bangs from her forehead.

“Hey,” He was hoping for a different guest. 

“I came to let you know dinner would be ready soon.”

“Thanks,” he waved a hand towards her before laying back on his bed. 

003 stood there for an extra beat before slowly walking towards the door only to pause with her hand on the handle, “Have you told him yet?” 003 asked coyly. 

Jet sat up straight, “Did I tell who what?”

003 laughed, “004, have you told him yet how you’ve felt? You know you’re running out of time.” 

Jet stood up fast, “How did you know!” he was flustered. 

“Come on, the others may not have picked up on it, but it’s pretty obvious. I don’t need my vision to see how you look at him when he’s speaking, or during missions,” 003 opened the door making her exit. 

Standing alone in his room once again Jet felt his heart racing, would she have told him that if she didn’t think 004 felt the same. Jet looked at his hands balling them into fits, if he didn’t do it tonight then when? 

Hurrying from his room Jet ran down the hall, his boots slapping against the metal. He wasn’t prepared to smack his face against the back of anther body. 

“Ow,” Rubbing his nose Jet took a good look at who he had accidentally attacked. 

Standing there with a grin on his face was 004 still in a turtleneck, but minus the gloves. 

“Sorry, hope I didn’t hurt you,” Jet joked. 

“I think I should be more concerned about you,” 004 placed his metal hand on Jet’s shoulder, “I’m the one made of steel.” 

“Are you sure? It felt pretty soft to me,” Jet knocked his knuckle against 004’s chest. He could feel the heat in his cheeks immediately after, “What happened to the gloves?” he asked changing the subject. 

004 pulled his hand away and shrugged, “I was getting used to wearing them again. I can’t exactly walk around with this, now can I?” he held up the hand that functioned as a machine gun. 

“Aren’t you going to miss being a hero even a little bit?” Jet asked. 

No one seemed to be worried they’d be giving up the regular free use of their cyborg abilities. Jet on the other hand couldn’t stop thinking about the fact flying would no longer be a regular activity. He felt like in a weird way he was giving up a part of himself, a part he had hated, but slowly came to terms with. Going back to just being a normal person seemed like a slap in the face. 

004 shrugged, “I think I’ll be fine. I wasn’t much of a hero anyway.”

Jet shook his head his face screwed in confusion, “You’re kidding! You’re like the backbone of our team!”

004 had started walking, “Soon I’ll just be another guy. Come on, or 006 will start complaining about us letting the food get cold.” 

Without another word Jet shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and followed behind silently hating that 004 was right. The whole way to the dining room Jet was trying to come up with a plan to tell 004, 003 was right tonight might be it. If he didn’t have the courage now, how could he ever ask later. Being on two different sides of the world, even if they met again it wouldn’t be the same. 

“Earth to 002,” 009 waved his hand in front of Jet’s face.

“Hm?” Jet spaced out during dinner, “What’s up?”

“You’re already ignoring us, I can’t believe it,” 008 joked. 

“I’m just thinking about what I’ll do when I leave,” Jet stuck his fork in his food. 

“Don’t get into too much trouble, who knows if we’ll be able to get you out of it,” 007 said. 

Jet waved him off, “I’ll be fine.” 

“Not if you keep spacing out like an airhead,” 007 stuck out his tongue. 

Jet kept letting his eyes shift over to 004 who smiled but stayed silent for most of the discussion. Everyone talked about what they were going to do, or what they wanted to see now that the options were available. Surprisingly most of the group wanted to stay together, 003, 009, 006, and 007 all wanted to go back to Tokyo to stay for a while along with doctor Gilbert. 

“What about you 004?” Jet asked breaking into the idle chatter.

Everyone looked at the silver haired cyborg. 

004 shrugged, “I think I just want to go back to my life before, or at least as close as I can get.”

“Boring,” Jet sighed leaning back in his chair. 

004 raised a brow, “And what were your exciting plans again?”

Jet blew air through his nostrils, “The city is full of surprises. I’m sure I’ll find something interesting when I get there.” 

The conversation between the two felt strained and the air heavy. No one else spoke for a minute and Jet wondered if had said something wrong, only for a minute though. His mind was put at ease as 007 broke into a new conversation. Jet didn’t miss the way 004 frowned through the rest of dinner though. 

After the plates had been cleaned Jet stood around in the dining room waiting for 004 to leave the kitchen. Looking through the window in the door Jet watched 004 and 006 talk, he was trying to make it out, but he wished he had 003’s ability. When he saw 004 turn around, he quickly went back to leaning against the wall trying to look disinterested. 

His plan worked too well and 004 didn’t even spare him a pacing glance instead choosing to leave the dining hall without a word. Of course, his stubbornness got the best of him and Jet followed a few steps behind, not that he was even trying to be sneaky, he wanted 004 to know with each foot tall slowly becoming stomps.   
004 walked outside and Jet didn’t miss a beat the door barley had a chance to close before he was pushing through. 

“Do you want something 002?” 004 was fishing into his pocket. 

Jet was as always stunned into silence unsure what to say. He could feel his annoyance burning in the pit of his stomach, but 004 looked calm as always. His light grey eyes almost shimmering in the light of the moon. 

“You obviously want something,” 004 lit his cigarette.

“What happened to the gloves you were wearing earlier?” Jet turned away looking out towards the dark sea. 

004 took a long drag before answering, “They're what I wear around when I’m not here with you guys. I can’t exactly just hang out with a metal hand. I guess I was just getting used to them again.”

The silence settled between them once again. Jet had never really thought about it before, 004 was the only one with a recognizable cyborg part. Everyone else could hide it easily, Jet hardly thought twice about it anymore. 

“I know you hate it, probably more than any of us,” Jet sighed.

“Hate what?” 004 asked. 

“Being a cyborg, probably the most cyborg,” Jet couldn’t stop the rise in his voice, “But what are you going to do once we separate? Everyone was talking about what they want to do next, but you haven’t said a word. All you’ve said is that you want to leave! Why do you want to leave so bad Albert! Aren’t I enough!” Jet’s hazel eyes went wide, he couldn’t believe what he’d said. 

004 was silent for what felt like a long while and Jet couldn’t imagine what he would say next. He’d only heard 004 yell a handful of times, and it was never pleasant. Whenever 004 yelled it was from a place of passion, and it was never pure anger, there was always something else to it. Something jet could never quite place, but it always haunted him when he heard 004 raise his usually steady voice.

“Albert I-“ Jet stumbled over his words.

“Of course, you’re enough,” 004 shook his head, “Jet you’ve been more than enough from day one. I’m pretty sure I’d be dead without you,” his voice was warm. 

Jet shrugged looking towards the deck of the Dolphin, “You could say that about anyone,” he grumbled. 

“Just you Jet, you’ve saved me countless times. I’m positive there are times that if you hadn’t swooped in to save me, I would be a pile of broken parts,” 004 chuckled.

“How do you think I feel?” Jet smiled, “Where would I be without your rocket knees?” He turned back to face 004 whose smile was beaming, “And that hand you’re trying to hide, I’m pretty sure it’s kept me from crashing.”

Jet hadn’t noticed it before, but either him or 004 had started to move towards one another while they were talking. His mechanical heart was beating rapidly now taking in the sight of the man with silver hair. 

“It’s more than that though,” Jet whispered, “It’s your voice, you’ve kept me levelheaded when I thought I was going to lose my temper.”

“You are kind of a hot head,” 004 whispered.

Slowly 004’s metal fingers touched the side of Jet’s face, and he swore they almost felt warm. It could have just been his face though. Looking into 004’s light grey eyes Jet saw his own reflection and realized if he reached out, he could touch 004’s chest. His breathing picked up, and 004 almost looked worried with his smile slowly pulling away. As usual Jet was sending all of the wrong signals, he didn’t know how to express how he felt in words, he was never good with words, and he hasn’t gotten any better even with years to practice. Cupping his hand over 004’s Jet held Albert’s hand to his face. Albert looked like he wanted to say something, but Jet didn’t give him the chance. He always knew how to express himself through actions, with 003’s encouraging words in the back of his mind he acted. 

Love was never something Jet was yearning for, at least not something he could remember wanting. Not romantically anyway. In New York Jet kept to himself, he did what he needed to do to survive each day, and eh always found trouble. The only love he felt was some small bit of family love, it was almost more appreciation while he was with his folks. When he met the other cyborgs for the first time it took him a while to even trust them. Eventually he started to think about them as family, but maybe Albert had always been different. From the moment 004 saved him on the training field as they were figuring out what was happening to them. While Jet slowly created a bond with the whole group, the way he felt when 004 entered a room had grown increasingly different. He felt warm, embarrassed, like he couldn’t think straight, and when he would go on solo missions, Jet missed 004. He never felt that as the others left for solo missions, he wasn’t ever as worried about them, but 004, Jet feared he would never see his face ever again every time. 

Grabbing the front of 004s’ black turtleneck Jet yanked the man forward catching him off guard. Without a moment of hesitation Jet crushed his lips against 004s’ tasting the cigarette on his breath. He felt like a weight was lifted on his chest as he slowly pulled away only for a strong hand to pull at his waist and back into the kiss. Jet felt like there was electricity shooting up his spine as he pressed himself closer to the soft sweater in front of him. 

Pulling away gently Jet whispered against the lips he locked with, “Albert, come to New York with me.”

004 kissed Jet’s forehead, “I have things to take care of, and then I’ll meet you there I promise.” 

Jet felt a wave of peace overtake him as his heartbeat thrummed steadily. He stood there wrapped in the arms of the man who got his first kiss while listening to the waves slap against the side of the Dolphin. Letting himself relax against 004’s chest he could hear the other man’s heartbeat, it sounded so steady, and he wondered if 004 was really that calm or if it was a side effect of his mechanical heart. It didn’t really matter as Jet wondered if 004 could heard his own, and Jet wondered if his heart was beating as fast as it felt. 

Separating felt impossible with the reality of tomorrow looming past the night sky. Who would have thought it was finally over and jet didn’t even want to leave. He was jealous of everyone who were choosing to stay together, but still he found himself missing the city, his old life. It was almost funny to Jet, what did his old life have for him before besides bruises and broken bones. What would be there for him now that it’d been 40 years? Jet sighed heavily falling more against 004.

“Tired?” 004 asked. 

Jet shook his head, “Just thinking about tomorrow. Going back home alone, it has me- I don’t know,” he trailed off.

“Nervous,” 004 finished the thought, “Which is fine, think about it, we’ve all been together for a long time. Splitting up is going to take at least a little getting used to. It’s not like we won’t be in contact.”

Jet shrugged, “I thought about going with them to Japan but,” once again he found his feelings hard to just put out into the open.

“You need to go home,” 004 ran his fingers through Jet’s light brown hair.

“Are you getting 001 to read my thoughts,” Jet huffed stepping out of 004’s embrace. 

It felt weird all of a sudden, like Jet was right where he was supposed to be, and suddenly he wasn’t.

Again, as if reading his mind 004 walked behind Jet laying his arms over Jet’s shoulders placing his chin on top of his head, “I think we’ve spent enough time together that I just know you that well.”

Turning his head to the side to try and see 004 Jet was met with another soft kiss. Neither of them spoke, but a silent decision was made between the two of them as they walked back into the Dolphin. The ship was almost eerily quiet except for the gentle whirring of the engine keeping the power on. It seemed like everyone else was asleep as they crept down the halls, 004’s sneakers squeaking on the marble floor while Jet’s boots stomped. Stopping at the door to his room Jet took a deep breath opening it and letting 004 follow behind him. An awkward air surrounded Jet as he stood there watching as 004 examined his room, Jet didn’t think he’d ever bene in there before.

“Feeling nervous?” 004 smirked. 

Jet turned up his nose, “No.”

004 laughed and Jet’s stomach did a flip flop, or course he was. 

“Mind if I?” 004 gestured towards the bed.

Jet waved him off, “I don’t care.” 

“Of course, you don’t,” 004 sat at the foot of the bed. 

Jet still stood there still as a statue with his arms crossed. After about a minute or two 004 finally spoke up. 

“I can go,” 004 started to stand.

Jet could feel the stress in his heart rise, “No, wait I’ll.”

004 sighed taking his shoes off and started pulling his sweater over his head before pausing, “You mind?”

Jet grabbed the bottom of the sweater and started to tug it upwards.

“That’s not what I meant!” 004 shouted. 

Jet froze feeling his face heat up while 004 laughed hard enough to fall back against the bed.

“I guess you don’t mind if I take it off,” 004 said through bouts of laughter. 

“Shut up!” Jet kneeled on the bed so he could reach over and grab a pillow to smack 004. 

004 put his hands up still controlling his laughing fit, “Sorry, I should have been clearer.”

Jet sighed putting the pillow own realizing he was now on the bed next to 004, he felt frozen once again. 004 slowly shifted so he was lying on a pillow and patted the space next to him.

“When you’re ready,” 004 said. 

Jet slowly laid down in the space next to 004 facing him but keeping his head down his bangs blocking his vision. He felt a shiver creep up his spine as 004’s fingers slowly pushed Jet’s bangs away from his face. Looking into 004’s deep grey eyes suddenly Jet felt even closer to him than when they were out on deck, like he was seeing an even deeper side to the man lying next to him. His breathing was soft and even and Jet wished he could say the same, he felt like he was taking deep breaths and holding them trying not to steal away the air form the other. As 004 continued to cars his fingers through Jet’s light brown mess of hair Jet slowly realized he was closing the gap once again. It was like a magnet between them. 

“You called me Albert on the deck,” 004 whispered.

“You’re more than just a number, your name is important, it’s always been important,” Jet responded, “If I don’t say it who knows who will.” 

004 kissed Jet’s forehead, “Thanks Jet.”

Jet felt like his heart was going to fail, when was the last time he heard his own name? Without a second thought Jet buried his face in 004’s torso and slowly fell asleep though he tried to will himself to stay awake all night so morning would never come.


End file.
